This disclosure pertains to compact, sterilizable, and easily positioned lighting devices having particular use in surgical applications.
Sterile fields are of paramount importance to surgical operating rooms as post-surgical infections can be catastrophic to those affected. Breaks in sterile technique or field are not uncommon and can lead to changes/delays in surgery or postoperative infections.
One issue that increases the risk of a break in sterile technique is wiring and tubing that passes onto and off of the surgical field. Examples include electrocautery, suction, arthroscopy lighting, suction, and similar items.
Another common issue in the operating room is visualization of the operative field in a deep hole such as a hip, pelvis or abdomen. Typical overhead lights are employed in the operating room (OR), but sometimes there is a very limited window for visualization of the desired subject, or the surgeon's head will block the light while in the path to visualize the appropriate part of the wound. In this case an additional light can be placed on the surgeon's head (such as a headlight) but these can be heavy and cumbersome, and they do not always stay in place, leading to potential breaks as the light is adjusted. This can create visualization problems for both surgeon and assistants. Another way that increased illumination and lighting can be brought to the surgical field is through lighted retractors, or instruments with fiber optic cables that bring light through a cable from off the sterile field. This, however, leads back to the initial problem of increased risk for break in sterile field by having more tubing/wiring coming from nonsterile environment.